Half of the Flowers are Gone
by Bears on Broadway
Summary: An AU..Squall decides to visit his mothers grave.. and finds his father there, which only brings up painful memories, can a dear friend rid him of these memories? R+R!!


Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8, or any of its characters...

A/N: Doesn't take place in their world... Takes place in Japan... 

Summary: An AU..Squall decides to visit his mothers grave.. and finds his father there, which only brings up painful memories, can a dear friend rid him of these memories? R+R!!

~* _Half of the Flowers are Gone *~_

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Squall awoke with a shock. His hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

"Finally you are up!" Rinoa screamed. Squall looked to her and sighed.

"Oh, it's you Rinoa." Squall said as he relaxed as he laid back down onto his bed.

"You don't even appreciate me coming and waking you up!?" Rinoa screamed.

"Lemme sleep just a little bit." Squall sleepily requested.

"I'm not gonna be late because of you! Now get up!" She screamed as she threw the blanket off. Rinoa's face became red and furious. "I didn't mean get that up!" She screamed in shock.

"Sorry, it's the morning. I gotta go to the bathroom or something!" Squall told her. And so he stood up and so she screamed.

"DON'T POINT IT AT ME!" She yelled.

"I can't help it!" Squall told her.

"Rinoa is really nice to wake Squall up every morning for school, isn't she?" Matron, Squall's foster mother asked Cid who was reading the newspaper at the small table. Suddenly, both Rinoa and Squall busted out of his room and ran to the entrance of his adequately sized apartment.

"You better run to school other wise I'm gonna be so pissed." Rinoa threatened.

"Geez, your such a bitch. Is this what happens when you start your period?" Squall asked.

"WHAT!?!?" Rinoa screamed. And a loud crash of flesh meeting flesh was echoed through the apartment.

"By Dad, by Mom." Squall weakly called out as he rubbed his red cheek.

"By Mr. and Ms. Leonhart!" Rinoa waved as she pushed Squall out the door.

Rinoa and Squall ran down the paved side walk that lead to their school. Cars ripped past them in the street. As the image of their school came into view Squall slowed down into a walk and looked to his right where a large grave yard laid while Rinoa ran past him. She stopped in her tracks and looked back to Squall.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, annoyance in her voice. 

"You can go on ahead if you want." Squall told her, not even bothering to look back at her. Rinoa looked down the side walk and saw the school in the distance. She sighed heavily and began to walk for Squall.

"Why do you do this?" Rinoa asked him as she stood beside him. Squall didn't give an answer. Rinoa sighed in annoyance. "You can finish looking after school, okay?" Rinoa told him as she rested a hand lightly on his forearm. Squall looked to her and smiled.

"Thanks." Squall said and turned away from the rows and rows of concrete slabs. Each one had it's own person to acknowledge but they all held the same purpose, to remember. It was sad to think that all of them were remembering memories and people long gone from this world.

The school bell rang, letting all of the students know that they were free from that place which was their personal hell. Squall and Rinoa walked down the sidewalk which they had came to school on. Squall looked to his left and found the same rows upon rows of graves. He smiled remembering the promise that Rinoa had given him. They walked a bit further and found the entrance to the grave yard. Squall entered and Rinoa was about to follow until Squall protested, holding a hand out.

"I want to go alone." He told her. Rinoa smiled and nodded, acknowledging he wanted to remember in peace. Squall walked through the many assorted graves along the way. Finally he saw his mothers grave, but a strange man was laying flowers down in front of the grave. Squall walked hastily towards the grave, wanting to know who it was giving remembrance to his mother. He stopped a few feet away from the man and his mouth opened lightly in shock. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled a picture from it. The picture showed a man with black hair that was in a pony tail. He looked to the man and found it the exact description. 

The man bent up from the grave and looked to Squall. The man gave him a small smile and turned away.

"Laguna!" Squall called. "Father?" Squall called once more this time more desperation running in his voice. The man turned once more giving no expression on his face, but he turned his head back and just shoved his hands into his pockets and began to walk away. Squall collapsed to his knees. "I'll never know, will I?" Squall asked himself. He looked from the grass and looked to the bouquet of flowers. "Half of the flowers are gone." Squall acknowledged. He stood and walked to the grave. "Kind of like my family." Squall said with a smile. But that smile quickly faded and mended its way to tears. They began to slide from his eye lids and smash themselves into the plastic surrounding the bouquet. 

Memories began to slip through Squall's mind. 

"Where are you going, Dad?" Squall asked as he took his unsure foot steps towards the door where his father was exiting from. 

"Foods in the pantry. Have a nice life." Laguna cryptically told him with a glare. Squall gave his father a worried look as he picked up his baggage full of clothes and walked out the door, into the bright sunlight silhouetting his figure. Squall's small bottom lip began to tremble and tears began to streak his face... 

Squall began to sob at the new found memory. He collapsed to his knees and buried his face into his palms. Rinoa squinted to try to see Squall and if he was doing all right. She found him bent over and crying. Her face became a worried one and she began to run for him. She skidded to a stop near him and bent down on her knees. She rested her knees onto the green grass that shot for the sky. She placed one hand on his back in comfort. He took that gesture and turned to her and threw his hands around her shoulder and began to sob into her neck. 

"It's okay." Rinoa soothed as she rested her own head to his neck to his neck and let her arms fall over Squall's shoulders......... 

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A/N: Well, this is my first SERIOUS fic... I hope you people like it!! I worked really hard on this.... 

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **


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